Ex-Manchester United forward Mason Greenwood was punished after appearing to clash with Marseille’s head coach in the build-up to their Ligue 1 game against Nice on the weekend
Mason Greenwood in action for Marseille(Image: Getty Images)
Mason Greenwood dropped to the bench for Marseille’s Ligue 1 game against Nice on Sunday after ‘paying the price’ for ‘some friction’ with head coach Habib Beye last week.
Former Manchester United forward Greenwood is Marseille’s top scorer this season with 25 goals in 42 appearances but he didn’t start the must-win league fixture against Nice.
Speaking pre-match, Beye cited that the decision to bench Greenwood was due to nursing an injury he picked up last month and the England international has since been managing that problem.
Beye, who replaced Roberto De Zerbi as Marseille’s new boss in February, said: “We’ve been looking at Mason since the beginning of the week; he’s very limited by the injury he sustained in Lille.
“He’s played two matches with significant pain, we can’t risk him.”
But Foot Mercato then reported that Greenwood’s injury isn’t the only reason for Beye’s decision to name him as a substitute. Indeed, it’s claimed that the ex-Getafe man is ‘paying the price for some friction with his coach’ during training and was therefore punished with a place on the bench.
Mason Greenwood in action for Marseille(Image: Getty Images)
Beye ended up calling on Greenwood and bringing him on in the 63rd minute at Stade Velodrome. However, he was unable to help his Marseille side to a win, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s second-half header was cancelled out by a late penalty from Elye Wahi.
It was a result that left Marseille down in sixth in the Ligue 1 table, four points behind third-place Lyon in the race for the Champions League. The French side have three league fixtures remaining, starting with a trip to Nantes before games against Le Havre and Rennes.
Greenwood joined Marseille for £27million from United in 2024 and has been a revelation since his move to France, with his 47 goals and 16 assists in 78 appearances catching the eye.
But he wasn’t the only high-profile name Beye decided to leave on the bench for the visit of Nice, as Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri was an unused substitute for the match, having struggling to adapt to life in France.
Defending his decision to name Nwaneri on the bench, Beye said: “He’s a quality player, but he has to give us way more in his day-to-day commitment. Other players gave way more.”